5 Year Anniversary
by showtunediva
Summary: Oliver/Grace oneshot Takes place in the spring of 1940. I own no Annie characters. Joanne and Frederick Warbucks are my original characters. Enjoy!


5 Year Anniversary

A Oliver/Grace fanfiction inspired by the song **Faithfully** by Journey

Notes: I do not own any rights to any Annie characters or quotes from** Faithfully**. Set in Spring 1941 at the end of Annie's freshmen year at Princeton. Lots of changes for the Warbucks family are ahead! Stay tuned for a new collaboration with Mandalcious which will delve deeper into this plot. In this story Annie is 18 almost 19, Molly is 14 almost 15 and Frederick and Joanne are 6.

"Oh boy,

You stand by me

I'm forever yours

Faithfully."

Grace Warbucks smiled as she packed her suitcase. She was going away with Oliver for a week in the Berkshires for their five year anniversary. They had gotten married in January but decided to wait until the weather was warmer so their vacation was in the middle of April before Annie was to return from her freshmen year at Princeton. She could hardly believe it had been five years since the blissful day when she married Oliver and was officially Annie's mother. Her life changed forever that day and for the better. She often thought of her parents who died when she was 21 and how they'd be so of proud of her and her family if they were still alive.

There was a knock at the door

"Hi Mama."

Her daughter Joanne peeked through the doorway.

"Hi baby. Come in."

"What are you doing? "

"Packing for my trip but I can take a break."

Joanne hopped on the bed and Grace sat down next to her.

"How was your day at school sweetheart?"

Joanne smiled. "Good. I got a good grade on my spelling test."

Grace smiled. "That's wonderful!"

Joanne looked sad.

"Mommy , why do you have to go away for a week?"

Grace smiled. "Your father and I are going away for our anniversary."

"That's a long time though."

Grace hugged her youngest daughter. "I know princess but Grandma Helen will take care of you three while we're gone. Time will pass and we'll be home before you know it."

"I'll miss you."

Grace stroked her daughter's bangs back from her forehead and laid a soft kiss on it. "I'll miss you too my beautiful baby girl. I promise I'll bring you back a special gift from our trip."

Joanne seemed happy with this offer. "Okay Mommy."

"I love you Joanne."

"I love you too Mommy."

The next morning Oliver and Grace set out around noon time to leave for Western Massachusetts.

Molly hugged her mother tightly.

"I'll miss you this week Mom."

Grace kissed Molly's head softly. "I'll miss you too angel. Help Grandma Helen take care of your brother and sister alright?"

Molly nodded.

"I love you." Grace whispered.

"I love you too Mom."

Once they pulled of the driveway Grace grinned at her husband.

" This trip is going to be wonderful. I can't wait!"

Oliver took one hand off of the steering wheel and took Grace's hand in his, tenderly squeezing it.

"I can't wait either my darling. It's going be like our honeymoon all over again."

Once they got to the hotel and checked in they got a brochure of stuff to do around the area.

"There's so much to do here. I can't wait to go exploring!" Grace said excitedly.

Oliver grinned. "This will definitely be a great week."

Each day was full with lots of activity. One afternoon they went on a picnic by the lake.

Grace took in everything around the view of the lake, the trees, everything. She had never felt so at one with nature.

She felt Oliver's lips graze her forehead softly.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" he whispered.

Grace smiled and nodded. "Yes, many times."

"Well, I mean it whenever I say it. You mean everything to me Grace."

Grace curled up against Oliver on the picnic blanket.

"We've been through a lot in the past five years haven't we?" Grace asked

Oliver nodded. "We certainly have… but remember what we said in our vows.. for better or for worse in sickness and in health we're there for each other always."

Grace remembered back to the time several years before when Molly had been diagnosed with dyslexia.

"You've always been my rock Oliver and so has Mama. Especially during the time when Molly was diagnosed with dyslexia. I don't know how I would have gotten through any of that without the two of you."  
Oliver smiled again and kissed Grace on the forehead. "That's a fine example."

The sat together in content silence for about 5 minutes and then Oliver dropped a bombshell.

"Grace, have you ever considered moving out of New York?"

Grace looked at her husband, utterly shocked.

"What do you mean? Our kids have grown up here. Frederick and Joanne are still really young."

"I know darling. Trust me; I'm not planning on moving right away. At the most we'll probably move by the fall or middle of the winter. I just feel like that mansion is getting too big for all of us especially now that Annie has gone to college."

Grace's jaw dropped. "Are you serious Oliver? You'd just fire all the staff that's been with you for years.. including my mother?"

"No darling. Of course I'm not going to fire your mother she's part of the family too. Wherever we move she'll move with us."

"Why do you want to move all of a sudden?"

"It's just that soon I'm going to retire and I want a change of atmosphere."

Grace thought back to the conversation she'd had with her sister at Christmas.

"My sister Jen did say she was planning to New York or possibly Boston. Would we still live in New York if we moved?"

"I was actually thinking we could move to Boston so we would be closer to your sister Melissa. Does Jennifer know if she's definitely moving to New York or if she's going to live in Boston?"

Grace shrugged. "She's still figuring out where she's going to move to… it depends where her job transfers her or where she find another job."

"Well perhaps if we moved to another part of the city we could move to Queens to be closer to my brother Gene and his family. Molly and Isabella have always been like sisters."

Grace grinned. "That's a wonderful idea! Molly has always wanted to go to school with Isabella; it would be really great if they could finish off high school together. Perhaps that can be a temporary set up and then we can move to Boston."

"Well let's first find out where your sister gets a job and then we'll go from there. How does that sound?"

Grace nodded. "Sounds a like a good plan sweetheart."

Oliver got a champagne bottle out of the picnic basket along with two glasses. He poured one for himself and handed the other glass to Grace.

"Cheers to us." He said

Grace nodded. "Yes, to five years and many more... and to new beginnings."

Their glasses clinked.

I'm forever yours. "Oliver whispered

"Faithfully." Grace replied.

"I love you Grace."

Grace fell into Oliver's tender embrace once again kissing his cheek softly as she did so.

"I love you too darling."

The week flew by in a blur. It was filled with hiking, day trips to surrounding towns, shopping, fine dining and museums. Pretty soon they were headed back to New York. When they arrived back at the mansion Joanne flew down the front steps and into Grace's arms.

"Mommy! Daddy! I missed you so much."

Grace suddenly felt a pang of longing as she remembered that had been the same exact way that Annie had greeted them when they returned from their honeymoon in Lake Placid. She couldn't wait for her oldest daughter to be home from college for the summer. She scooped Joanne up and kissed her forehead

"We missed too sweetheart. Were you a good girl for Grandma Helen?"

Joanne nodded. "Yes, I was."

"That's good to hear. Your father and I bought you all presents."

"Yippee!"

After dinner Grace and Mrs. Pugh went to Mrs. Pugh's room for one of their famous chats.

"So the two of you had a wonderful trip?" Helen Pugh asked her surrogate daughter.

Grace nodded her head. "Yes Mama. It was glorious. Have you ever been to the Berkshires?

"Can't say I have darling."

"We should all go there as a family sometime then. It think it would be a wonderful trip for all of us."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

Grace was silent for the next couple minutes.

"What's on your mind darling?"

"How do you feel about moving Mama?"

"Where to?"

Grace shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps somewhere outside the city… Queens. Oliver and I were talking about possibly moving to live closer to his brother Gene and his family."

"What made this discussion come about?"

"Well he wants to retire in the next couple years and sell this place. He feels it's a good idea to downsize."

Helen Pugh was shocked. Grace had the same look on her face when Oliver had proposed this idea to her.

"How do the children feel about this?"

"That's the thing. They don't know yet. We were thinking of having a family meeting in a few weeks when Annie gets back from school."

"Jennifer is planning on moving to New York isn't she?"

Grace nodded. "That's another determining factor. If Jen gets a job in New York or New Jersey then we'll stay here if she moves to Boston we may move there so that way our family can all be together."

"When was the last time you talked to your sister?"

Grace thought about that . "Not for awhile actually. I should ask her what she decided to do about moving. Maybe I'll call her tomorrow."

"So is Oliver planning on firing the rest of the staff?"

Grace nodded. "Most likely."

Mrs. Pugh got kind of sad. " Well I do suppose it's been long enough since we've all worked here. I''ve been here for about 30 years now... it's probably time for me to retire too."

Grace smiled and squeezed her surrogate mother's shoulders. "Don't worry Mama. I think this will be a wonderful new beginning for all of us. I mean if you think about it I'm finished with all my college credits so now I can probably look for a teaching job."

Mrs. Pugh pulled Grace tightly to her and kissed her forehead. "Grace Elizabeth Warbucks, my precious Gracie Liz, I love you so much."

Grace softly kissed her mother's cheek before snuggling into her chest. "I love you too Mama. You mean everything to me."

The next day Grace called her sister Jennifer in Chicago. After a few minutes of catching up Grace asked her if they were planning on moving.

"Have you found any places in New York yet?"

"I think we're probably going to move to Boston actually. Melissa was able to find an apartment for us close to hers at a cheap rate."

Grace smiled "That's great news Jen. Have you found a new job yet?"

"I have a few interviews coming up in the next couple weeks. If things go well we'll be moving to Boston by the middle of June."

This was very exciting news for Grace, She was happy that her big sister niece and nephew would be finally living closer to them. That way they'd all be closer together.

"We might be moving too." Grace said

"This is a new development." Her sister said.

"It's still in discussion. We're waiting to tell the children a few weeks until Annie gets back from school."

"Would you guys stay in New York?"

"Most likely. At least till Molly graduates high school then we may move to Boston to be closer to you guys."

"So you guys are going to sell the mansion then?"

"Yes, that's our goal. Oliver wants to retire soon and with that decision includes downsizing our living space."

"How do you suppose the kids will take the news?"

"I honestly don't know. I think Joanne and Frederick will take it the hardest because they're both so young."

"Well good luck Gracie. Let me know how everything goes."

"I will. I love you Jen."

"I love you too Gracie."

Before they knew it it was the second weekend of May and Oliver and Grace drove the half hour to Princeton to go pick up Annie and move her out of her dorm room for the summer.

Annie was surprised to see her parents by themselves. "Where's everyone else?"

"Home, preparing a special welcome home meal for you." Grace replied.

"Oh boy, oh boy. I can't wait to get home. I've missed you guys so much."

Oliver kissed his oldest daughter on the forehead. "Did your finals go well sweetheart?"

Annie nodded. "Yes Daddy, they went fine. I'm just hoping I get good grades."

Grace squeezed her daughter's shoulder. "You'll do fine dearest."

"We have some exciting news for you Annie." Oliver said.

Annie's eyes grew wide. "Really?! Are you having another baby?"

Grace chuckled. "No dear, nothing as big as that.. but never the less it's big news."

"What is it?"

"Well part of it is that Aunt Jen Kathryn and Jacob are planning to move to Boston."

"Leapin Lizards! That's great Mom… now they'll be closer to us!"

Grace hugged Annie tightly. "I know darling. It's very exciting. I'm happy they'll be living closer to us too."

Annie looked from her mother to her father and back again. "If that's part of the exciting news than what's the rest of it?"

Oliver and Grace exchanged a look between each other. "We're going to have a family meeting when we get home to discuss that so you'll just have to wait" Oliver said.

Annie nodded seriously. "Okay Daddy."

Once they arrived back to the mansion the Warbucks family had a welcome home dinner for Annie complete with apple pie for dessert. Oliver and Grace then escorted their children into Oliver's office. Mrs. Pugh followed close behind.

Once Annie was settled on the couch with her siblings she immediately asked "What's the rest of the exciting news?"

"Well your father and I have discussed possibly moving to Queens. How does that sound?" Grace asked

They were met with silence.

Annie's first question was "How soon?

Oliver smiled. "We don't know sweetheart. It depends how quickly we can sell this place and find a place in Queens. I'm going there later on this week to see Uncle Gene and he'll take me apartment hunting."

Joanne asked her question in a barely audible whisper. "Why are we moving?"

Grace noticed that her youngest daughter looked like she was about to cry. She walked over to the couch and kneeled down in front of her.

"Well, your father wants to retire in a few years and he wants to downsize. This house is starting to get a little bit too big for us."

"I don't want to move." Frederick protested. "What about my friends?"

Grace figured her younger children would have this kind of reaction. "Queens isn't that far sweetheart. You can still stay in touch with your friends and make new ones too."

"What about school? If we don't sell the house till the fall will I have to transfer schools in the middle of the year?" Molly asked.

Grace and Oliver had never considered this before, they exchanged a glance. Oliver shrugged.

"That may be a bit difficult to figure out at first but I'm sure we'll get over that hurdle eventually. " Oliver said.

Grace grinned at her second oldest daughter. "On the plus side you'll be going to school with Isabella. Won't that be fantastic?"

Molly broke into a wide smile. "Yes Mom, it definitely will!"


End file.
